Malpractice total payouts amounts increased for the first time since 2003, according to an analysis done by Deiderich Healthcare. They used data recorded by the National Practitioner Data Bank during 2013. In actual dollars, the increase in 2013 was $168 million more than 2012 (a 4.7% increase), which is close to the amounts of payouts in 2009.
Allegations of diagnosis malpractice leads with 33% of the payout, surgery allegations making up 23% of the total payouts, and treatment allegations was 3rd in the list with 18% of the total payouts.
Medical malpractice lawsuits paid out more in New York last year than in any other state by a huge margin. Awards in malpractice lawsuits paid out roughly $690 million in New York last year, nearly twice that of second-ranked Pennsylvania, which saw $357 million in payouts.
Although New York State still leads with the highest per capita payouts in malpractice, averaging $39 per resident, they also experienced an overall decrease of over $73 million. Other states on the Eastern Seaboard where also on the top of the list with the highest per capita payouts, and the Midwest and Southern States showing the lowest per capita payouts. North Dakota had the lowest payout, $2.96, with Texas being coming in close at $3.02.
As usual, most of the payout are a result of settlements (96%) instead of judgments. Interestingly, the percentage of judgment payouts decreased by 2% in 2013.
For more information, and a wonderful infographic that summarizes their findings can be found by following our link to their website www.diedrichhealthcare.com.
